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Fidelity Bank declares N15.5bn profit for 2014

Fidelity Bank Plc on Tuesday said it made a
profit before tax of N15.5bn for the 2014 financial year. The figure represents
a 72 per cent increase on the N9bn it made in 2013.

The bank, which grew its interest income by 21
per cent to N104bn from N86.3bn recorded a profit after tax of N13.8bn, 79 per
cent higher than the 2013 figure which stood at N7.7bn.

In the year under review, the bank’s net loans
and advances increased by 27 per cent to N541.7bn from N426bn.

Customer deposits rose by two per cent to N820bn
from N806bn with total equity rising by six per cent from N163.5bn in 2013 to
N173.1bn in the review period. Also, the bank’s total assets increased by 10
per cent to N1.187bn from N1.081bn, while dividend per share increased by 29
per cent to 18 kobo from 14 kobo.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive
Officer, Fidelity Bank, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, was quoted in a statement as saying
that the performance was largely due to improved optimisation of the bank’s
balance sheet.

He said, “Our 2014 performance is a testament to
the significantly improved optimisation of our balance sheet. PBT growth of 72
per cent was driven by a 27 per cent growth in the loan book while cost of
funds declined over the period. This translated into a 58 per cent growth in
net interest income and a 200bps growth in NIM to 6.0 per cent. Cost of risk
normalised to 0.8 per cent from 1.9 per cent in the 2013 full year.”

Okonkwo also said the bank’s retail banking
strategy gathered increased momentum in 2014 with the bank acquiring over
471,000 new retail customers and core low-cost retail deposits grew by 18 per
cent, which impacted positively on our funding cost.

He added, “We also witnessed improved operational
efficiency as the bank leveraged alternative electronic channels to reduce our
cost to serve, operating expenses (excluding regulatory costs) grew by three
per cent year-on-year, which was significantly below the inflation rate.”

According to him, key regulatory ratios remained
well above set limits and resulted in the bank paying a dividend of 18 kobo per
share which translates into a dividend yield of 11.5 per cent.

He expressed the confidence that the bank’s
performance in 2015 would also be positive, saying, “Though the operating
environment remains challenging due to strong macro-economic headwinds, we
remain committed to the execution of our medium-term strategic objectives which
are focused on the Retail/SME/E-Banking/Niche Corporate Banking segments.”